Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S Processor Review

The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Processor

Last month with the economy in the gutter we brought you a review on the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 processor and found that it packed some serious performance for being a $169.99 processor. While many of our readers would be happy with a 2.33GHz processor with a 1333MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) and 4MB of L2 cache, others want something a little faster. Since the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 is lacking in cache, we figured you’d enjoy a review on the more powerful Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 processor. The Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 has four processing cores running at 2.83GHz, a whopping 12MB of shared L2 cache and a 1333MHz Front Side Bus (FSB) to keep things moving along nicely. At $275.99 the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 is roughly 60% more expensive than the Q8200, but for those that don’t overclock the extra clock frequency and cache may be worth it.

It should be noted that when the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 originally came out it had a Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating of 95W. The processor I have in my hands today is a new E0 stepping that has a TDP of just 65W! Intel informed Legit Reviews that the 65W parts would carry an S at the end, so this part is officially the Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550S. The performance between the Q9550 and Q9550S remain the same, so the only difference is the thermal profiles.

This new 65W part does carry a price premium over the older 95W parts, but they are aimed at the specialty OEM/channel that builds small form factor computers, and not consumers. It should be noted that 65W TDP does NOT necessarily translate to substantial, measurable AC “at the wall” power savings and doesn’t change the performance of the processor. TDP is simply a measure of the maximum power seen with commercially available apps. If you are looking to order a specific Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 processor, be sure to use the sSpec number to make sure you get the right TDP and stepping that you desire.

Intel Q9550 sSpec Numbers:

• SLGAE – 65W TDP w/ E0 Stepping
• SLB8V – 95W TDP w/ E0 Stepping
• SLAWQ – 95W TDP w/ C1 Stepping

Let’s take a look at the benchmarks to see how the Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200S does. It will also be interesting to see how this new E0 stepping Intel Q9550 processor overclocks!